Staying
by jumpingjaxx13
Summary: Prompt: can I have kalluzeb with sick Zeb and Kallus as grumpy, but very caring nurse? The main lesson here? Geonosian Swamp Flu SUCKS Crossposted on AO3


"Lay back down. _Now_."

Zeb sat on the edge of the bed, nausea making his head spin and vision blur. His hands braced the mattress to hold him up, feet brushing the ground as he swung them lazily. Muscles screamed for him to go that one step further- to _stand_ and to _move_ and to _use_ them after having lain still for so long- but the snapping voice penetrated and obliterated any thought of escape.

Green eyes blinked into focus, making out the image of the intruder standing in the doorway. A frown tugged on the human's lips, contorting his expression into one of immense displeasure, and his arms were crossed over his chest, fingers drumming in time with the tapping of his foot. Inwardly, Zeb groaned.

"Yes, Mum," he muttered, loosening his grip enough on the bed to flop back, internally amused by the bounce of the mattress under his sudden weight; an error, it appeared, since the motion stirred up another bout of sickness in his gut. _Damn Geonosis_ …

"Don't sound so grateful," Kallus retorted, finally stepping fully into the room and over to the bed. Save for Hera, he'd been the only one brave enough to breathe the same air as the ailing Lasat. He did, however, have enough sense to wear gloves. "Swamp flu is miserable, I know. It won't kill you, but you won't heal any faster if you keep disturbing yourself. Trust me."

A gloved hand pressed against his forehead, the sensitive skin of his inner wrist feeling through latex to deduce temperature. Zeb closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh and relaxing faintly under the touch. One benefit of Lasan harboring a variety of terrains (from forests to mountains to plains) was a natural immunity to a large myriad of diseases which could easily incapacitate a weaker species. Humans, no matter how resilient, were subject to contracting diseases before building up defenses- a bit retroactive, if you asked him, but it worked for them. And allergies- oh, allergies bewildered him to no end. Whenever they landed on a planet in its blooming season, all of the _Ghost'_ s resident humans spent the next handful of days sneezing and sniffling without real cause. On one occasion, Kallus himself had been the victim of a hornet's wrath and had swollen up so awfully… He insisted that everything was fine, but Zeb hadn't been too convinced. There were certain foods Ezra couldn't eat, or his throat would close up, but he consumed them regardless. He swore that the reaction wasn't too severe- that it was just a little dose of discomfort more than actual danger- but Zeb didn't like it one bit. No, humans were fragile- much more so than Lasat- so, one could only imagine his surprise when _he_ was the only one who contracted the Swamp Flu after their last rendezvous on Geonosis.

"Bah…" Zeb huffed in response, though he made no move to defy his self-proclaimed caretaker. Hells, he would glue himself to the bed if it meant that he wouldn't retract his touch. If the sickness itself wasn't enough, sleeping alone in cold sweats had emphasized the misery of his condition."I suppose ya speak from experience?"

"Personal experience? No," Kallus confessed, letting his hand trail from his sick lover's forehead to the crook behind his ears and stroking comfortingly. The gentle purr was more tangible than audible, and, had he not been fussing so fervently over this fool Lasat, it would have made him smile. "But I do have experience in caring for people who did."

Slowly, one green eye opened, brow arched curiously. "Ya don't strike me as the nursing type."

Kallus pursed his lips, retracting his hand just to see him pout. "Then what, exactly, do you think I'm doing here?"

The second eye joined the first, a teasing glint shining in otherwise sick-heavy orbs. "Caterin' to me, of course," he mused, groping bonelessly for Kallus's hand. "'Sides, this is what ya signed up for when you agreed to be my partner. You're obligated."

"Obligated, hm?" Kallus mused, taking pity on Zeb and taking his hand, thumb tracing aimlessly over his knuckles. "Any way I could cut the contract?"

"Nope," he replied easily, flashing a cheeky smile. "You're stuck with me."

"Blast. You're lucky I love you, you big, purple oaf." The words didn't hold a drop of animosity- if anything, they were coated with that strange kind of affection their banter always held. He caressed his hand, cradling it between his own as he sighed. Somehow, even though he'd come in fully intent on scolding his rebellious idiot of a boyfriend, he'd wound up beside him in the special, peaceful atmosphere only a statement of love could create.

"...It was a couple months before Onderon," Kallus started, closing his own eyes to recount his history. While he didn't necessarily _mind_ talking about his first battalion, there was always that melancholy trickle of sentiment that went along with it. So long as he didn't venture past that first blast- so long as he restricted himself to the quirky little anecdotes he'd maintained in their memory- he should be fine. Nevertheless, he appreciated the way Zeb's grip on his hand tightened fractionally.

"We'd been scoping out Geonosis when the first wave hit. Baxter and Sting were the first ones to go down, and, since we hadn't been aware of the excessive transmissibility, it spread like wildfire. Somehow, I was the only one who didn't get sucker punched by this disease, so I was knee deep in my squad's vomit and taking care of them until Commander Reste answered our beacon." He opened his eyes when his tale was interrupted by a low, rumbling chuckle that quickly morphed into a rasping cough. Arching a brow, he soothed his lover's hand through his coughing fit patiently. "Something... _amusing_?"

Coming down from the abuse of his throat, Zeb blinked back tears and shook his head. "Ah.. I'm just imagining you like that. You, the guy who can't have a single kriffing hair out of line, playing healer droid to a bunch of sweaty, pukey, germy- hey!"

"Yes, yes, I get it!" Kallus snapped, fresh from having given Zeb a gentle blow to the arm. "And now I'm here, sitting beside a sweaty, pukey, germy, smelly Lasat! Of all the awful things!" he exclaimed, his pout vacillating between irritated and amused. "One that can't even manage to stay in bed, to say the least."

"It's boring," Zeb protested, crossing his arms over his chest. If he had anything to say about it, the entire bug would come out with one final, hearty heave, but his own voice was silenced in the matter. Yet, it was moments like these when Kallus's face let his true frustrations shine through, he couldn't help but feel guilty. "Doin' nothin' but lay here all day. Then at night, you're not with me. It gets cold, and ah… And a little lonely, too. I don't mean to get you upset, but I just can't _stay_ here…"

The frown on Kallus's face deepened, though the light in his eyes appeared more pitifully pensive than irritated. The hand which had struck him moments earlier brushed over his cheek, prompting Zeb to nuzzle into it. A soft sigh broke the tentative silence between them.

"...Perhaps it wouldn't hurt if I set up a cot down here," Kallus suggested eventually, gesturing to the floor that, save for a couple trash baskets, was rather vacant. "I do seem to have some sort of immunity to it, after all. And I suppose I haven't been as attentive as I could have been…"

"Karabast, Kal. Do you hear yourself?" Zeb interrupted. "You haven't been leaving me alone! When you caught me earlier, it was the first time I've been able to get off my back. Not that I'm complaining, of course. I, ah…" He moistened his lips, a shy smile gracing them as he looked up at his lover. "I guess I kinda like this, you caring for me like this. Spending time with you and all. Just wish it wasn't like this…"

At this, Kallus's expression softened into one of affectionate understanding. "I understand. I would much prefer to be around you if you weren't prime to vomit on me at any moment," he confessed, resuming his gentle caress of Zeb's cheek. "Once you're feeling better, we can set up an excursion, if you like. I'm still the only crew member here who hasn't visited Lira San..?"

Zeb snorted, dancing on the edge of a sneeze before regaining his grip. "And I think it's gonna stay that way, too. No offense," he tacked on, greeted by Kallus's coy smile as a response. "But, yeah. I'd like that. No missions, no danger-"

"-I wouldn't go that far."

"Alright, alright. No _kids_. No duties. Just us. And no flu."

Kallus smirked. "And that, my dear Garazeb, is the most important part." With that, the human rose from where he rested by the bed and stretched out his leg with a wince. That bum leg… They really needed to get that checked out, but they've yet to find the time…

"Where are you going?" Zeb asked, feeling the sudden loss of contact as a pull on his heartstrings, tempting him to trail after the other man.

"To get the preparations for the cot, of course. Unless you've changed your mind about sleeping alone?"

Slightly relieved by the reassurance, the Lasat allowed a spark of humor to slip back into his demeanor as he lay back once again. "Mm… I think I'd much rather have you up here with me…"

Kallus arched a brow, the smirk on his lips growing wider and the glimmer in his eyes growing fonder with every passing second. Crossing his arms, he spoke with a single shake of his head. "Well then. If you can somehow magically cure yourself by the time I get back with the cot, I'll join you in your bunk. Until then, I'll get what I need."

This time, when he watched his lover leave, that phantom longing which was usually left in his wake was nowhere to be found. Having spent the last few days as the prisoner of this pesky pathogen, Zeb was more than ready to shed it, especially with the promise of Kallus as a reward.

 _Then again_ , he thought with a smile, skin prickling where Kallus had petted him so gently- treated him so lovingly and carefully, _Maybe this isn't all that bad._


End file.
